In the fevered heart of the market’s labyrinth, where the scent of value clings to the air like incense in a forgotten cathedral, two titans stand: the iShares Morningstar Small-Cap Value ETF (ISCV) and the State Street SPDR S&P 600 Small Cap Value ETF (SLYV). Both claim dominion over the realm of small-cap equities, yet their paths diverge like souls torn between asceticism and indulgence. One whispers of frugality; the other, of abundance. Which shall the investor crown?
SLYV, bound to the S&P SmallCap 600 Value Index, marches to the drumbeat of tradition, while ISCV, cradling a Morningstar index, dances to a more elusive rhythm. Here, then, unfolds a parable for the modern investor-a clash of philosophies veiled in ticker symbols.
Snapshot (cost & size)
| Metric | SLYV | ISCV |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | SPDR | iShares |
| Expense ratio | 0.15% | 0.06% |
| 1-yr return (as of Jan. 5, 2026) | 6.11% | 9.57% |
| Dividend yield | 2.13% | 1.89% |
| Beta (5Y monthly) | 1.25 | 1.22 |
| AUM | $4 billion | $575 million |
Behold ISCV’s meager fee-a paltry 0.06%-a pious offering to the altar of efficiency. Yet SLYV, with its 0.15%, dares to promise more: a dividend yield that glistens like a siren’s song for those who hunger for income. Is the investor a monk, fasting on fees, or a glutton, savoring the feast of yield? The choice is a crucible of the soul.
Performance & risk comparison
| Metric | SLYV | ISCV |
|---|---|---|
| Max drawdown (5 y) | -28.68% | -25.34% |
| Growth of $1,000 over 5 years | $1,422 | $1,517 |
What’s inside
ISCV, a vast congregation of 1,092 stocks, sprawls across financial services, consumer cyclicals, and industrials. Its top holdings-Sandisk, Rocket Companies, Annaly Capital-are but faint echoes in its chorus, each under 1% of assets. Here lies the paradox: a fund so broad it risks becoming a phantom of diversification, yet so diffuse it may never stir the heart.
SLYV, by contrast, is a tighter symphony of 459 positions, its sector inclinations eerily similar. BorgWarner, Hecla Mining, Qorvo-each holds a sliver of power, just over 1%. Its fidelity to the S&P index is a testament to order, yet one wonders: does this discipline stifle the wild, untamed spirit of small-cap value?
For the seeker of clarity, the full guide awaits at this link.
What this means for investors
ISCV and SLYV are two faces of the same coin, yet their shadows fall differently. The former, with its 1,092 holdings, is a fortress against single-stock ruin; the latter, a more concentrated hymn to the market’s capricious muse.
Consider the math: ISCV’s 0.06% versus SLYV’s 0.15%. For every $10,000, the chasm widens by $9 annually-a trivial sum, yet over decades, it becomes a chasm of opportunity. But what is opportunity if not another name for anxiety?
And returns! ISCV’s 9.57% over five years eclipses SLYV’s 6.11%, though the latter’s higher yield may soothe the restless. Volatility, too, gnaws at the edges: ISCV’s beta of 1.22 suggests a slightly steadier hand, while its -25.34% drawdown is a scar less deep than SLYV’s -28.68%. Yet small-cap stocks, like human hearts, are fickle creatures. Who can tame them?
SLYV’s $4 billion AUM is a fortress of liquidity, while ISCV’s $575 million simmers with the uncertainty of the unknown. Is liquidity a virtue, or merely the comfort of crowds?
These ETFs, alike yet estranged, mirror the eternal struggle of the investor’s soul: the tension between frugality and yield, breadth and focus, faith in the crowd and trust in the individual. The answer lies not in numbers alone, but in the abyss of one’s own desires.
Glossary
Expense ratio: The annual toll exacted by the fund’s keepers, measured in percentages of assets.
Small-cap: The underdogs of the market, those companies whose market caps stagger between $300 million and $2 billion.
Value characteristics: Stocks that whisper of undervaluation, their prices shrouded in the riddles of price-to-earnings or price-to-book ratios.
Index: A phantom benchmark, a ghostly hand guiding the ship through the fog of uncertainty.
Dividend yield: The alms paid by corporations to their shareholders, measured in percentages of current price.
Beta: A measure of a fund’s tempestuousness, compared to the calm sea of the S&P 500.
AUM (Assets Under Management): The weight of capital entrusted to the fund, a measure of faith-or folly.
Max drawdown: The deepest wound inflicted upon a fund’s value, a scar etched in percentages.
Sector tilt: The fund’s whispered allegiance to certain industries, a bias masked as strategy.
Single-stock risk: The peril of placing too much faith in one company’s fate.
Leverage: A double-edged sword, amplifying both gains and losses.
Currency hedge: A shield against the chaos of foreign exchange, or a crutch for the timid?
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2026-01-10 14:24